Lionheads’ Quinoa & Chickpea Salad

I had a similar salad at a local pub (I know, of all places!) and loved it so much that I decided to make my own version of it. This recipe is loaded with protein, fibre and of course flavour.  Masala chickpeas with a tahini and creamy cashew dressing paired with tonnes of healthy veggies and topped with toasted hemp seeds. Perfect meal on any day.

Vegan, Gluten-free, Soy-free

Makes 6-8 servings. Time required: about 1 hour

For the salad:

1 cup quinoa

1.5 cups water

28oz chickpeas (cooked)

3 avocadoes, cubed

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1 batch of dinosaur kale, remove stem and chop into small 1-inch pieces

1 cucumber, cubed

½ cup toasted hemp seeds

For the masala paste for the chickpeas:

4 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp ginger powder

3 tsp turmeric

1 tsp garam masala

4 tbsp vegetable oil (any that is neutral in flavour and scent)

1 tsp sea salt

For the salad dressing:

1 cup soaked raw cashews

½ cup rice milk (unsweetened)

3 tbsp tahini

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

5 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp lemon zest

1 tsp sea salt

Instructions:

1. Soak the cashews in water (well-covered) in a small bowl for 2-3 hours.
2. Boil 1.5 cups of water in a small pot. Add the quinoa. Put the lid on, lower the heat to about medium, and let simmer for 15 minutes. Remove lid and fluff quinoa with a fork. Set aside to cool. Fluff every 5 minutes to speed up the cooling process. It should be cool enough in about 30 minutes.
3. To make the masala paste for the chickpeas, simply mix all of the ingredients together with a fork until smooth. Immediately add the chickpeas. Mix well to ensure that chickpeas are covered in the paste. Set aside.
4. To make the dressing, drain the water from the cashews. Place the cashews, rice milk, tahini, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt, and lemon zest in a food processor until smooth. Set aside.
5. When the quinoa has completely cooled, in a large bowl, mix the chickpeas, masala paste, and dressing into it. Add the all of the veggies into it and mix well. Sprinkle with the toasted hemp seeds. Serve.

Notes:

1. If you are making it as lunch for the week (as I did), to ensure freshness, you can mix and put the chickpeas and quinoa in one container, the veggies except the avocado in one container (avocadoes are best if prepared the day of), hemp seeds in a small jar, and the dressing in a small container.